ATK Test Fires Titan IV Booster with New Nozzle Material

29 March 2000

ATK (Alliant Techsystems) said it successfully test fired a Titan IV Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) booster using a new nozzle material on March 19 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. There are two SRMU boosters on the Titan IV vehicle, each measuring 112 feet in length and 126 inches in diameter. The three-segment motor cases are made of graphite epoxy composite material, which reduces the inert weight of the SRMU from its steel-cased predecessor motor, despite the SRMU's larger size and greater amount of solid propellant. Alliant Aerospace Propulsion Company is part of ATK's Aerospace Group, which comprises the company's space and strategic propulsion and Utah- and Mississippi-based composite structures operations. The group employs approximately 1,700 people in California, Florida, Mississippi, New York, and Utah. Sales in fiscal year 1999 were $395 million.